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Great white shark 'pings' again off Volusia coast

Published: Saturday, January 18, 2014 at 2:38 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, January 18, 2014 at 11:33 p.m.

Katharine, the 14-foot great white shark with a satellite tag tracking her every move, showed up again Saturday far off the coast of Southeast Volusia — part of her extended stay in the waters off Volusia County and Central Florida.

Her fans at OCEARCH were watching: “#WhiteShark Katharine pinged in this morning,” the research organization posted on Facebook. “She is just south of Daytona Beach, Florida. Do you think she will spend the winter months here?”

Many others were watching, too, as they have been since OCEARCH started tracking the shark from Cape Cod, Mass., in August. While the ocean is full of sharks, OCEARCH's trackers on five of them have generated significant data and a lot of interest on land.

Some of the Facebook comments on her latest satellite ping (which happens when the fin breaks the surface of the water, allowing the tag to send out a signal):

“Look, she keeps doing lefts... She must be getting ready for the 500!”

“Wonder if she needs tickets to the Rolex?”

“She might coming to watch the surf contest tomorrow in New Smyrna Beach.”

“She's probably just early for Bike Week... I'll look for her while I'm there.”

“Plenty for her to eat here. Sea bass, snapper, grouper, you name it. She heard about NSB being the shark bite capitol of the world, and came to see for herself!”

Great whites have been spotted off Volusia's coast before, but the tracking of Katharine shows how much time a single shark will spend in a relatively small area — and how close they might come to the beach.

The closest Katharine came to Daytona was about 2 miles offshore. Since then, she's meandered farther out to sea. Scientists speculate a strong food source is keeping her around.

Aside from tagging the sharks, OCEARCH researchers have run as many tests as possible, including blood tests, on each shark in the 15 minutes they're out of the water. Running a broad battery of tests on a small number of sharks mean fewer are disturbed. “The rate and breadth of data collection significantly enhances the missing data required to solve conservation and public safety challenges,” OCEARCH said on its website.

For more: OCEARCH on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/OCEARCH — or @OCEARCH on Twitter.

<p>Katharine, the 14-foot great white shark with a satellite tag tracking her every move, showed up again Saturday far off the coast of Southeast Volusia — part of her extended stay in the waters off Volusia County and Central Florida.</p><p>Her fans at OCEARCH were watching: “#WhiteShark Katharine pinged in this morning,” the research organization posted on Facebook. “She is just south of Daytona Beach, Florida. Do you think she will spend the winter months here?”</p><p>Many others were watching, too, as they have been since OCEARCH started tracking the shark from Cape Cod, Mass., in August. While the ocean is full of sharks, OCEARCH's trackers on five of them have generated significant data and a lot of interest on land.</p><p>Some of the Facebook comments on her latest satellite ping (which happens when the fin breaks the surface of the water, allowing the tag to send out a signal):</p><p>“Look, she keeps doing lefts... She must be getting ready for the 500!”</p><p>“Wonder if she needs tickets to the Rolex?”</p><p>“She might coming to watch the surf contest tomorrow in New Smyrna Beach.”</p><p>“She's probably just early for Bike Week... I'll look for her while I'm there.”</p><p>“Plenty for her to eat here. Sea bass, snapper, grouper, you name it. She heard about NSB being the shark bite capitol of the world, and came to see for herself!”</p><p>Great whites have been spotted off Volusia's coast before, but the tracking of Katharine shows how much time a single shark will spend in a relatively small area — and how close they might come to the beach.</p><p>The closest Katharine came to Daytona was about 2 miles offshore. Since then, she's meandered farther out to sea. Scientists speculate a strong food source is keeping her around.</p><p>Aside from tagging the sharks, OCEARCH researchers have run as many tests as possible, including blood tests, on each shark in the 15 minutes they're out of the water. Running a broad battery of tests on a small number of sharks mean fewer are disturbed. “The rate and breadth of data collection significantly enhances the missing data required to solve conservation and public safety challenges,” OCEARCH said on its website.</p><p>For more: OCEARCH on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/OCEARCH — or @OCEARCH on Twitter.</p>